How to translate text using browser tools
22 June 2018 Filling Voids in Subterranean Termite (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) Bait Stations with Soil or Clay Improves Preference and Performance
Hongpeng Xiong, Wenquan Qin, Xiujun Wen, Zhaohui Sun, Cai Wang
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Subterranean termites often transport soil into bait stations. In this study, we hypothesize that adding soil or clay material in the bait may affect preference and performance of termites. Choice and no-choice tests were conducted in the laboratory to investigate the aggregation and feeding preference, survivorship, wood consumption, and body water percentage of termites in response to food containers (here we simulated the bait station by placing a wood block into a bigger plastic box with termite-entering holes on the wall) with the void space filled with soil (sandy clay loam), clay material (sodium bentonite), or remained unfilled. Choice tests showed that under low-moisture conditions, food containers filled with clay attracted significantly more termites (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) and Reticulitermes guangzhouensis Ping (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae)) compared to food containers filled with soil, or unfilled. Under medium-moisture conditions, however, the percentages of termites that aggregated in the food containers filled with soil or clay were similar, and both were significant higher than the percentages in unfilled ones. In no-choice tests, the highest survivorship and wood consumption in C. formosanus were recorded under medium-moisture conditions and when food containers were filled with clay, whereas the lowest survivorship and wood consumption were recorded under low-moisture conditions and when food containers were filled with soil. Interestingly, presence of clay increased the body water percentage of termites. Our study enhances the understanding of the foraging ecology of subterranean termites, and may contribute to the improvement of termite-baiting technologies.

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Hongpeng Xiong, Wenquan Qin, Xiujun Wen, Zhaohui Sun, and Cai Wang "Filling Voids in Subterranean Termite (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) Bait Stations with Soil or Clay Improves Preference and Performance," Journal of Economic Entomology 111(5), 2303-2311, (22 June 2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toy181
Received: 9 May 2018; Accepted: 4 June 2018; Published: 22 June 2018
JOURNAL ARTICLE
9 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Coptotermes
foraging
moisture
Reticulitermes
soil transport behavior
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top